|
 |
 | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||
| | You are in: UK: Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||
 | | Tuesday, 16 April, 2002, 10:48 GMT 11:48 UK Green light for ambulance changes  Changes will be made over the next two years A plan by the Scottish Ambulance Service to prioritise the most urgent 999 calls has won the backing of the Scottish Executive. Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm said the new priority-based despatch system could save up to 360 lives every year. Mr Chisholm gave his approval to an ambulance service plan to move away from the current first-come-first-served system. He pledged that �13m would be made available to allow a new prioritising system to be rolled out over two years. Ambulance bosses have welcomed "the most radical change" in the service for a quarter of a century.
The new-look system will see emergency calls put through the equivalent of a triage system so that their urgency can be assessed. However, it means there will be a reduction in the number of control rooms, from eight to three. The remaining centres will have new computer systems and more staff, so that operators can judge the urgency of each call. Instead of ambulances being sent out on a first-come-first-served basis, calls will be put into three categories. The most serious will get an ambulance as fast as possible, the non-emergencies will not get one at all. Top priority Recent research carried out at Dundee's Ninewells Hospital suggested thousands of lives could be saved if ambulances managed their emergency calls more effectively. The researchers found that nearly one in four ambulance call-outs did not require a trip to hospital. The health minister said: "I believe that this move will be widely welcomed within the NHS and by the public. "The NHS is built on a system where those in need are made a top priority. "Fundamentally, it is right that for those with the greatest need, ambulances and paramedics should be despatched with the greatest speed."
Mr Chisholm said a total of �7m would be invested in new equipment for the control centres, with an additional �6 million being spent on operating costs. An additional 200 frontline staff will also be appointed over the next two years, Mr Chisholm added. The new system is the first of its kind to be implemented in the UK. Owen Clarke, the chairman of the Scottish Ambulance Service, described the move as "the most radical change we've had in the ambulance service for a quarter of a century". "This very significant additional funding sets the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) on the path towards real world-class standards," he added. Adrian Lucas, chief executive of the SAS, said: "Today is a fantastic day for the ambulance service and particularly for the patients that we serve. "It's going to take us from being behind the rest of the UK and put us firmly ahead." | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Scotland stories now:  Links to more Scotland stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Links to more Scotland stories |
 | | ^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII|News Sources|Privacy  |
E-mail this story to a friend